For me the earliest sign was a simple premonition that something may have resulted, which was later confirmed by the absence of my menstruation. Of course, once you are missing your period, you quickly put two and two together and interpret this absence to automatically mean a pregnancy. In my case this was true, and with this impending knowledge came the expected feelings of nausea, dizziness, and aversion to certain types of foods. However, more than anything, before I held the steadfast results of a pregnancy test in my hand, I just had this feeling: I FELT pregnant. Many women I have talked to thereafter have told me a similar story, where they could feel something going on inside of them, even though it was way too early to perceive any type of fetal movement or stirring. Overall, early pregnancy signs seem to vary greatly among women, although there are many common factors that most women seem to experience at some point while expecting. Some of have reported anything from immediate eating binges and cravings to dreaming about a baby to experiencing severe mood swings that range from irritated and exhausted to ecstatic and manic. The most common early signs also include cramping in the uterine area, frequent urination and pressure on the bladder, as well as fatigue and swollen, tender breasts. Pregnancy is a beautiful time for most women and the beginning of a pregnancy is particularly exciting. Of course, to receive reliable confirmation of a pregnancy, it is best to visit your physician rather than to rely on telltale signs alone.

The first sign I felt was a wonderous "wow" kind of something-is-going-on feeling. Back in the day urine tests were not so accurate, when my urine test came back negative I insisted they do a more accurate blood test which confirmed I was about 5 days pregnant. After that I would say at times I felt slightly nauseous. Certain foods became quite unappealing to me. Later my period stopped, and of course after a while one experiences a rather distinctive weight gain

The first thing that you would know if you are pregnant is when you miss your period. But, this doesn't apply to all some women just have a irregular period. To check you can buy a pregnancy test in your nearest drug store or pharmacy.

Here's a link where you can find the weekly progress of your pregnancy:
http://www.surebaby.com/pregnancy-week-1.php

I have two sons the first, Torsten is 1 year 9 months and the second Rafe is almost 6 months old.

With Torsten I did not really have any symptoms throughout the whole pregnancy. I craved fruit and meat at one point and my sense of smell was crazy good but no morning sickness, no early weight gain (I started gaining about 6 months in), nothing typical. I suppose I did gain about two bra sizes though lol

With Rafe I had the darkening of nipples, about two more bra sizes, early and fast weight gain, swelling of the gums, and later gestational diabetes. No morning sickness again though. Well and with both I had missed periods of course lol It's pretty rare that pregnancy symptom is missed.

I tried to recall what was the early sign that I remembered when I suspected that I was pregnant and the only thing I remembered was missing my period. So I searched online to know more what are the early signs of pregnancy and these are what I have gathered:

1. Spotting lightly can happen if implantation occurs before menstruation period begin. The spotting is usually pinkish or brownish and not heavy.

2.Increase frequency in urinating is one of the very early signs of pregnancy. This usually happens from about 7-12 days after the temperature rise in ovulation.

3. There is an elevated body temperature. Although this can happen too during elevation but if one is pregnant the basal body temperature remains elevated.

4. Missing a menstrual period is the most obvious sign of pregnancy.

5. There is fatigue or lack of energy

6. There is also uterus cramping that can be experienced.

7. Morning sickness and feeling nauseous but of 10 pregnant women only half experienced this.

8. The nipples and breasts become tender. This is considered one of the very early signs of pregnancy

9. The areolas of the nipples become dark one week after conception and the bumps become more prominent

10. Constipation can also be experienced.

One major thing was my clue early on in my pregnancy: my sense of smell became SO heightened. Now I am known for having a bloodhound's nose anyway, but this was just ridiculous. I honestly thought I was going completely nuts - I could literally smell my neighbor's cologne from across the yard! I wound up having a chemical pregnancy, sadly, but I did ask my OB about the smell thing - she says it was early for that to happen, but not out of the question. From what she's told me, symptoms of early pregnancy vary wildly...for me it's a super sniffer, apparently. I'm thinking of a career change if we get pregnant again - I need to put this skill to good use!

Anyone else out there a super sniffer too?

Sometimes you never know you are pregnant. I didn’t for five months. I even had my cycle on time. Then I got hit with the inability to eat. I could only eat spaghetti and pepperocini for the next four months and drink seltzer!

Some basic symptoms are nausea with or without vomiting for no reason, feeling of being distracted or out of it, bloating or being slightly uncomfortable frequent urination or a pressing on the bladder. No period!
I know some that have experienced migraines, frequent diarrhea, craving for odd foods, insomnia, or as in my case an overwhelming desire to sleep all the time, sudden crying, irritability. All of these or some of these affect a pregnant woman at one time or another. Either at the early stages or mid stages. Another thing to watch out for is an odd pelvic pain. In ectopic pregnancies the feeling of chronic menstrual cramps without a menses is a key as well.

My "kids" are 25, 21 and 14 ... so it has been a while for me too... but I distinctly remember the first sign was being totally exhausted without any real reason for it. I would come home from work and need to take a nap before preparing dinner. And immediately after dinner would fall asleep on the couch. I would have to be awakened to go upstairs to bed and would fall immediately asleep.

That's all very unusual for me -- I am usually a high energy insomniac... so all that sleeping meant that something was definitely going on ;) I was lucky - those were the only symptoms I really had... no nausea or unusual cravings or anything... but... I did use "cravings" as an excuse to eat lots of ice cream! Heehee

I also remember my dr asking me if I felt the baby kicking with my first one... but I had no clue what it was I was supposed to be feeling! LOL! They should tell you that at first it feels kinda like little gas bubbles. I was a nervous wreck for weeks thinking I wasn't feeling anything when in fact I was!

Gosh :) Great question! It's made me remember the thrill of hearing their heartbeats for the first time... and seeing their ultrasounds... and of course laying on the couch watching little elbows and knees poke out through my tummy as I got further along :) Now that my youngest "baby" is 6 feet tall, those are lovely memories :) As is the memory of being in the delivery room with Caitie and Ryan when my grandson was born :)

After several years as a midwife, I would say that one of the earliest signs of pregnancy is breast tenderness. Some women will develop nausea in early pregnancy (even prior to the first missed period), but most women don't get nausea/vomiting until around 6-7 weeks. This corresponds with 2-4 weeks after the first missed period in a normal 28 day cycle.

Food aversions are interesting-- some women will have these very early in pregnancy. They report a sudden inabillity to tolerate their usual cup of coffee or glass of wine. Its fabulous, really, how the woman knows on some level to avoid these substances that can harm her newly growing embryo. Sense of smell is protective, and also develops in ealry pregnancy, often contributing to nausea/vomiting.

Fatigue is also an early pregancy sign, and some women report that this is their first and most overwhelming sign. Another pregnancy sign can be frequent urination, but this can also happen prior to a period (the uterus is a bit heavier and puts more pressure on the bladder, whether pregnant or premenstrual), so is not too reliable until 8-10 weeks pregnancy.

These signs are dificult to quantify because they are all subjective. I tried for two years to concieve my first child, and I swear I had all the signs of pregnancy each month for many months before I finally was "really pregnant."

Fortunately, the new over the counter pregnancy tests are very accurate very early- even by the time of the expected (or unexpected) period. The one cautionary note here: as many as 15-20% of these very early pregnancies end in miscarriage. The downside of finding out so early is that the couple gets very excited and, if miscarriage happens, very disappointed. I can't help but think that things were a bit easier 20 years ago (when I was birthing my own babies), when we had to wait until 2 weeks after missing a period to do a test. I knew many women whose periods "were just late." Many of them likely had an early miscarriage that was never detected.

One last and very important note: If a couple is planning a pregnancy, it is very important to "act pregnant." Take a prenatal or multivitamin daily (the folacin 400 mcg daily protects development of the embryonic neural tube); avoid alcohol, drugs, medications not approved by your OB practitioner; see your practitioner prior to pregnancy to discuss possible genetic/age related concerns; make sure your immunizations are up to date (and that your immune status to chicken pox, rubella are active); and if you smoke, quit- please.

Good luck!